Every year at this time I like to rank each team’s top prospects. My criteria is based upon both past performance and future potential to his parent team. This is my ranking of the 2012 Kansas City Royals Top Prospects. If you have any questions about my rankings, feel free to shoot me a message on twitter @Jaypers413

To qualify, a prospect must have fewer than 130 at-bats or 50 innings in MLB

Disclaimer – I did not attend any minor league games this year, nor do I claim to have any scouting experience. These lists are the product of my own research of statistics and online scouting reports.

With the 2011 minor league season complete we check in on the progress of each of the Kansas City Royals preseason Top 15 prospects as ranked by our prospect ranker J.P. Schwartz. The post season grading report was done by the publisher of Top Prospect Alert, not Mr. Schwartz, and reflects only the 2011 season and not future upside or downside of the individual prospect. Our 2012 preseason rankings will be published in the coming months.

#1 Mike MoustakasGRADE: A-
Moustakas batted .263 with 18 Doubles, 1 Triple, 5 Home Runs, and 30 RBI’s for the Royals. He walked 22 times and struck out 51 times in 89 games. For the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers, Moustakas hit .287 with 15 Doubles, 1 Triple, 10 Home Runs and 44 RBI’s in 55 Games.

#2 Eric HosmerGRADE: A+
Hosmer batted .293 with 27 Doubles, 3 Triples, 19 Home Runs and 78 RBI’s for the Royals. He walked 34 times and struck out 82 times in 128 games. He also stole 11 bases on the season. At Triple-A Omaha, Hosmer batted .439 with 5 Doubles, 3 Home Runs and 15 RBI’s in 26 Games.

#3 Wil MyersGRADE: C
Myers batted .254 with 23 Doubles, 1 Triple, 8 Home Runs and 49 RBI’s for the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals. He walked 52 times and struck out 88 times in 99 games.

#4 Mike MontgomeryGRADE: C-
Montgomery went 5-11 with a 5.32ERA at Triple-A Omaha. He walked 69 and struck out 129 in 150.2 innings of work. Opposing batters hit .271 off of Montgomery on the season.

#5 John LambGRADE: B-
Lamb went 1-2 with a 3.09ERA in 8 starts for Double-A Northwest Arkansas before undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the remainder of the 2011 season. He walked 13 and struck out 22 in 35 innings. Opposing batters hit .246 off of Lamb. The grade reflects what he did while he was healthy.

#6 Jake OdorizziGRADE: B+
Odorizzi was a combined 10-7 with a 3.73ERA between the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks and Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He walked 44 and struck out 157 in 147 innings of work. Opposing batters hit .244 off of Odorizzi on the season.

#7 Christian ColonGRADE: B-
Colon batted .257 with 14 Doubles, 2 Triples, 8 Home Runs and 61 RBI’s for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He also stole 17 bases. Colon walked 46 times and struck out just 51 times in 127 games.

#8 Aaron CrowGRADE: A
Crow went 4-4 with a 2.76ERA out of the Royals bullpen. He made the 2011 American League All Star Team. He walked 31 and struck out 65 in 62 innings. Big league hitters batted .237 off of Crow on the season.

#9 Chris DwyerGRADE: C+
Dwyer went 8-10 with a 5.60ERA for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He walked 78 and struck out 126 in 141.1 innings. Opposing batters hit .238 against Dwyer on the season.

#10 Danny DuffyGRADE: B-
Duffy went 4-8 with a 5.64ERA for the Royals. He walked 51 and struck out 87 in 105.1 innings. Big league hitters batted .287 off of Duffy. At Triple-A Omaha, Duffy went 3-1 with a 3.43ERA in 8 starts.

#11 Jeremy JeffressGRADE: C
Jeffress opened the season with the Royals where he went 1-1 with a 4.70ERA and one save in 15.1 big league innings before being optioned. He went 1-3 with a 4.26ERA at Triple-A Omaha before being demoted to Double-A Northwest Arkansas where he went 2-3 with a 7.16ERA in 24 innings. Opposing minor league hitters batted .281 off of Jeffress. He walked 40 and struck out 44 in 55.2 innings in the minors.

#12 Jason AdamGRADE: B
Adam went 6-9 with a 4.23ERA for the Low-A Kane County Cougars. He walked 25 and struck out 76 in 104.1 innings. Opposing batters hit .235 off Adam on the season.